Danzo: Damn it, I'm so stifled

The underground base of Root remained as cold and damp as ever, with a few oil lamps casting flickering shadows against the stone walls.

Danzo sat behind a long table, half his face obscured by bandages, his single exposed eye fixed on the letter spread out before him.

The letter had just been retrieved from the leg of a Root ninja hawk, the ink still glistening and wet.

"Sasuke Uchiha has left Konoha with Jiraiya, accompanied by Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno. Intelligence coverage is zeroed out once they exit the village. All the rabbits in the village have disappeared."

Danzo flipped the letter face down on the table, tapped his fingers twice against the edge, and looked up.

"Come in."

The sound of a cane striking the stone floor echoed from outside the heavy door. Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura walked in, one after the other.

Koharu wore a dark blue robe, her expression unreadable.

Homura adjusted his glasses and sat down across from Danzo.

"Something to discuss?" Homura spoke first.

"Sasuke is gone. The rabbits are gone, too." Danzo pushed the letter toward them.

Koharu picked up the letter, scanned it, and handed it to Homura.

"Isn't this a good thing? Didn't you complain every day about there being too many rabbits?"

Danzo's fist clenched tight: "I was being watched by a pack of rabbits in my own home, eating, drinking, and even going to the bathroom with them trailing behind me. Now that they've finally cleared out, I'm simply informing you."

"Alright, alright." Homura placed the letter on the table and rested his hands on his knees.

"That boy Sasuke isn't an outsider; he's one of our own. Being monitored shouldn't be an issue, should it? You've monitored others yourself, haven't you?"

"Homura is right." Koharu took over, her tone far sharper than his.

"It's only been a year since the Uchiha clan was wiped out. You know exactly how many Sharingan you took from the Police Force, don't you?"

"Sasuke Uchiha merely placed a few summoning animals around the village. Is it really worth getting this worked up over?"

Danzo stood up abruptly, his fury evident.

"You call that 'a few'?!"

Koharu watched him, her expression unchanging.

Homura sighed, took off his glasses to wipe them with his sleeve, and put them back on.

"Koharu, that's enough."

"And Danzo, don't get so agitated. As annoying as the rabbits were, our intelligence and defense in Konoha have certainly reached a new level over the past year."

"Ever since the rabbits appeared, any stranger approaching the village has been detected immediately."

Koharu let out a cold snort: "Several batches of spies sent by Kumogakure have been wiped out. That is a genuine achievement."

"Danzo, before you complain, you should consider how many lives have been saved in the village this past year."

Danzo slammed his cane down in frustration before slowly sinking back into his seat.

Koharu stood up, walked to the stone door, and paused, glancing back at Danzo: "The benefits of the rabbits outweigh the drawbacks. There is nothing left to discuss regarding this matter."

"You should settle down. You've gained so much; don't act like you've been wronged."

Homura stood up as well, patting Danzo on the shoulder as he passed.

"Regarding the Uchiha affair, Sarutobi and you both have your own responsibilities."

"Now that Sasuke is gone, you can have some peace. Stop picking on a child."

The sound of the stone door closing echoed through the underground chamber, and the footsteps in the corridor gradually faded away.

The flames of the oil lamps flickered twice, stretching the shadows at the edge of the table even further.

Danzo sat alone behind the long table, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

Sasuke was gone, the rabbits were gone; finally, he would have a few days of peace.

He raised a hand to rub the corner of his eye, which throbbed beneath the bandages.

"Heh heh..."

A low, raspy laugh suddenly drifted down from above.

Danzo's eyes snapped open, his right hand gripping his cane as he shielded himself.

On the rock wall above the long table, the surface of a protruding stone began to ripple like the surface of water.

A pale figure slowly seeped out from the rock.

Orochimaru manifested before Danzo.

The shock in Danzo's single eye lasted only a moment before being replaced by icy hostility.

"Koharu and the others were right. The moment the rabbits leave, all sorts of snakes, insects, and vermin crawl back into Konoha."

"That's a harsh thing to say, Danzo-sama." Orochimaru retracted his tongue, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

"We are old friends, after all. Root and my laboratory used to cooperate quite pleasantly."

He walked to the long table, reached out to pick up the letter Koharu had left face down, scanned the contents, and held it to the oil lamp to set it ablaze.

The paper curled and blackened in the flames, crumbling into a small pile of ash that drifted onto the desk.

"Sasuke Uchiha is no longer in the village," Orochimaru said.

"I know," Danzo stared at him. "Were you eavesdropping just now?"

"Eavesdropping is such an ugly word. I simply happened to be passing by and caught a glimpse of the two advisors leaving."

Orochimaru tucked his hands into his sleeves, pulled up a chair opposite Danzo, and sat down, leaning back and crossing one leg over the other.

"I've come to propose a collaboration."

"Collaboration?" Danzo leaned against the back of his chair, his single eye revealing no expression.

"I intend to orchestrate an attack on Konoha."

Danzo's hand, resting on the table, suddenly clenched into a fist.

"Has your own forbidden jutsu rotted your brain?" Danzo's tone turned extremely hostile.

"You think I would let you destroy Konoha?"

Orochimaru began to laugh, his voice raspy and viscous.

"Lord Danzo is truly impatient."

He leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees, his tongue circling his lips once more.

"There are only two things I truly desire. First, to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi. Second, to study Sasuke Uchiha."

Danzo's clenched fist relaxed, his fingertips tapping twice against the tabletop.

Orochimaru watched him silently, waiting for him to speak.

"You want to kill Hiruzen, you want to capture the orphan of the Uchiha clan..." Danzo spoke slowly, "What do you need me to do?"

Orochimaru used his finger to draw a circle on the table, then placed a small dot in the center.

"Lord Danzo has learned to play dumb, I see. You know exactly what you must do."

"As for me, I can help you remove Hiruzen Sarutobi from that seat. How you consolidate Konoha afterward is your business. I have no interest in power."

Danzo did not speak; he could only believe half of what Orochimaru said.

Who knew what this madman might do once the plan was in motion?

But if the seat of the Hokage were to become vacant, if Hiruzen Sarutobi were to die on the battlefield, and if Root were to emerge at the critical moment as a savior...

"I need time to consider." Danzo leaned on his cane and stood up.

"Of course." Orochimaru's body began to melt like a candle, his lower half already sinking into the rock floor beneath his feet.

"But be quick. My patience, too, has its limits."

Orochimaru vanished entirely into the stone.

Danzo stared at the spot for a long time, then reached out and swept the ashes off the table onto the floor.

By the lakeside near the forest on the eastern outskirts of Konoha.

Yakumo Kurama crouched by the water's edge, her fingers gently stirring the surface.

She wore a simple, plain-colored kimono, her hair loosely tied back with a ribbon.

Her complexion was somewhat pale, the kind of pallor that comes from a life spent away from the sun.

She withdrew her fingers, and her reflection on the water shattered into concentric ripples.

She stared at the fragmented specks of light, letting her mind go blank.

Then, an animal blocked her view.

A rabbit.

Its fur was pure white, and its ruby-like eyes were watching her quietly.

The rabbit shook its head; its left ear flopped down over its forehead, while the right remained upright.

Yakumo blinked, and the rabbit blinked back.

"Are you..." Yakumo spoke softly, reaching out to touch it, but her fingers stopped in mid-air and retreated.

She was afraid that if she touched it, it would run away.

It was the same at school; whenever she wanted to speak to someone, they would always find an excuse to turn and leave.

The rabbit tilted its head, then hopped forward, nudging its head directly into her palm.

The fur was soft—softer than anything Yakumo had ever touched.

Her palm tickled from the warmth, and her fingers curled involuntarily, stroking from the top of the rabbit's head down to its back.

The rabbit lifted its head, squinted its eyes, and let out a faint, soft purr from its throat.

"You little rabbit... you're so cute."

Yakumo picked up the rabbit and placed it on her lap, using her sleeve to wipe a bit of mud from its paw.

She had never kept a pet before, but she felt that if she could hold this rabbit every day, perhaps her illness would heal a little faster.

She lowered her head and leaned in close to the rabbit's ear.

"Come home with me."

The rabbit opened its red eyes to look at her, then parted its mouth.

"Sure~"

Yakumo's eyes went wide. "Huh?!"